FIFA Soccer 2003Review

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Find out how EA's new FIFA sequel turned out on GameCube.

By Aaron Boulding

After capitalizing on this summer's World Cup fever with 2002 FIFA World Cup, EA is once again back on GameCube with the true sequel to last year's FIFA 2002. More than just a graphical and roster update, EA's third GameCube soccer game arrives with more modes, more leagues, and completely "remixed" controls. Along with better ball physics and a new C Stick control system, FIFA Soccer 2003 brings with it thousands of real players and hundreds of international and club teams -- but there a few issues here and there that left us wishing a regular FIFA game and the World Cup edition could somehow merge into one, all-powerful soccer title.

Features

More than 175 licensed entitites, including 16 leagues, 450 teams, and 10,000 players

Club Championship Mode: play as one of Europe's 18 greatest teams, complete with matching stadiums and chants

New Set Piece Control: expanded controls for dead ball situations

New physics and control engine make for more realistic ball behavior

Four-player multiplayer

Progressive Scan 480p and 16x9 widescreen support for HDTVs and DTVs

Dolby Pro-Logic II support

GameplayEA Canada is continuing the company's right analog stick revolution by introducing Freestyle Control to FIFA after successful debuts in NBA Live and NHL 2003. Soccer, like hockey, is the very definition of an analog sport and seems like a natural fit for mapping special moves to the right stick, but there's just not the same payoff in FIFA as there was in NBA Live.

The only move that can be used consistently is the knock ahead where your player kicks the ball a few feet ahead of himself (by leaning the right stick in the direction he's facing) on the dribble so you can quickly catch up to it using turbo without breaking stride. Simply squeezing the R button to turbo while the ball is on your feet won't give you anywhere near the advantage that the sprint/knock ahead mechanism will. This is how the stars of the game have to do it in real life, so it's yet another bit of realism brought into another EA game that we didn't know we wanted until it was dropped in our laps. However, step-overs and other fancy footwork supposedly available on the C Stick are extremely unreliable because they're dependent on the defensive pressure and position of the ball relative to the player. In soccer videogames the camera has to be positioned far away enough to show a decent sized portion of the field, so that you won't be able to recognize whether the ball is on his left or right foot or which way the defender is leaning, no matter what camera perspective you choose. It makes it seem like the Freestyle Control in FIFA was an afterthought or just wasn't fully developed by the time the game was due to ship. It's easy to imagine however, how the system could be applied to a FIFA game, so here's hoping EA will develop the system more for the next game to come up with something that works intuitively and makes the player feel like he's in control.

The two biggest differences longtime FIFA fans will notice from the previous edition are better physics all around and new player animation/control setup. The do-it-yourself through passes we enjoyed so much in World Cup 2002 have been replaced by a true through ball (open pass) button (Y) that's intended to be used in conjunction with the "make a run" control on the L Button. The Y pass is more of a direct pass that's supposed to be aimed at a specific player of your choosing so making it a through pass is optional. But the standard A Button pass simply kicks the ball in whatever direction you wish with no specific player in mind. Getting the hang of these two new controls is a key to unlocking the fun in FIFA 2003 , but should be second nature after half a dozen games or so. The bumping physical play where two sprinting players would jostle and shove each other going for the ball has been replaced with a kinder gentler system where steals and timing are everything and protecting the ball through superior turbo button tapping is no more. The physics between the players and between the ball and the players are once again very good, but the no elbow-throwing on the run along with the furious turbo button tapping make them a little less apparent.

The A.I. is super aggressive at going for the ball and this along with the new sprinting system make one-on-one play even more difficult. Smart manipulation of the left analog stick can perform basic fakes that the defense will react to, but going coast-to-coast like Maradona even with great players like Ronaldo will be extremely difficult. I think moreso than any other FIFA game before it, this 2003 edition compels players to learn and apply the fundamentals of the sport with smart passing and precise timing rather than raw speed and overwhelming firepower.

Another new system in place is the set piece. For free kicks and corners you're given a circular meter with an indicator constantly swinging back and forth with a tiny green area somewhere along that circle. Your chances of successfully passing or shooting the ball depend on how close you come to that green area when you hit the shoot or pass button to initiate the play. Furthermore, the new ball striking indicator let's you choose which side of the soccer ball you want to hit as you kick, thereby allowing for some wonderful ballspin. Talented shooters like Roberto Carlos can bend-in goals with 50% accuracy on the lower difficulty levels on free kicks near the area. One major oversight in this new set piece system is the inability to use ballspin on corner kicks. It should be there, but it just isn't.